everyone with a new concern about a looming storm. good morning and welcome to "news 4 today." i'm eun yang. >> and i'm aaron gilchrist. people still struggling from sandy. the election may be an afterthought, but right now we are 24 hours from the first polls opening in our area, and this morning new numbers that show the race is truly too close to call. just ahead, the last minute dash for votes around here today. it is 6:00 right now. getting out the vote this year means getting out the coats. this unseasonably cold weather is hanging on. now a new storm to worry about. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein is on top of all of this. tom, good morning to you. >> good morning. we'll be keeping an eye on a developing storm off the coastal carolinas taking place on wednesday. right now this morning, we're starting off with a lot of cloudiness across northern virginia, the district, most of maryland, and into the mountains. there are some breaks in the clouds in the central and southern shenandoah valley and areas fredericksburg south. that is where it's coldest. in fact, where it's cleared out,

temperatures there have tipped down to the freezing mark or below. upper 20s in the shenandoah valley and mountains. under the cloud cover, above freezing, mid and upper 30s, including prince george's, arlington, fairfax, montgomery county. reagan national on the warmer waters of the potomac at 42. anywhere along the waters, a little bit milder this morning. 7:00 a.m., a few light breezes around 10 to 15 miles an hour in the upper 30s. sunrise at 6:40. noontime, sunshine breaking out. breezy afternoon to midafternoon 50 degrees. early sunsets, 5:03. right back down into the 40s, and will be going clear tonight. a look at the forecast again and a hometown forecast in ten minutes. danella's here with traffic. good morning. >> good morning. first 4 traffic report, we're going to get a live look

at chopper 4 over the crash on bw parkway. northbound just north of lower bowie road, it is blocking the left side of the road. you are able to get by. follow directions. basically, you're getting by single file to the right. delays are starting to grow in this area. also, checking on the crash if you're traveling the inner loop of the beltway, crossing the american legion bridge, still along the right side of the road here. looks like two left lanes will get you by this accident in this area. you are slow crossing the american legion bridge as you make your way towards this accident. i-66 eastbound at fairfax county parkway, accident has cleared. really in both directions you're nice and clear. >> thank you, danella. at 6:02, president obama and mitt romney now have just hours to convince undecided voters to support them. it appears every vote will count in this hotly contested election. the race is a virtual tie according to the final, nbc news/wall street journal poll.

the president leads his republican rival 48%-47% among likely voters. that is well within the poll's margin of error. >> the race is just as tight in virginia. president obama leads mitt romney by 1% in the same poll. that's also within the margin of error. the president holds a super slim half point lead in the real clear politics of average. the candidates will face six battleground states. president obama travels to ohio, wisconsin, and iowa. mitt romney will campaign in ohio today as well and make two stops in virginia, including one this afternoon at george mason university. the republican presidential nominee will also hold rallies in florida and new hampshire. both candidates are making their closing arguments to voters. >> ultimately, it's up to you. you have the power. you will be shaping the decisions for this country right

now in the next two days. >> if the president thinks more government is the answer, no, mr. president, more good jobs, that's the answer. >> that was mitt romney last night in pennsylvania. his campaign hoping somehow wins in the keystone state. he trails the president by 4% in the real clear politics average of recent polls. >> d.c. voters already turning out in record numbers to vote in this election. 52,000 residents voted early this year. that is more than double the number of people who voted early in 2010. when early voting began in d.c., some voters had to wait in long lines, some two hours or more to cast their ballot. remember the news 4 i-team is on voter patrol. if you see a problem when you head to the polls tomorrow, we want to hear from you. call the tip line at 202-885-4444 or e-mail them at tips@news4iteam.com.

make sure to give them the name and number and the location of the problem. hurricane sandy throwing a wrench in the plans for the new york state board of elections. they're shipping generators out to polling locations without power. they're expecting a low voter turnout this year. if less than 25% of registered voters show up tomorrow, the board of elections says it is prepared to extend the voting deadline into wednesday. that news comes as new jersey's board of elections announced it will allow residents to e-mail their votes in if they're unable to get to a polling station. a week after sandy wreaked havoc on the east coast, some things are starting to get back to normal. later today, president obama will meet with fema to discuss disaster relief efforts. utility companies are still working to restore power to nearly 2 million customers. gas lines are still long, but both new york governor andrew cuomo and new jersey governor chris christie have promised an end to the shortage this week. the gas shortage won't help the rush to get back to work and school this morning. first day of class for students

in new york city since sandy. this morning new york city subway system is running at about 80% of its normal service. new jersey's transit agency says it's still several weeks away from full restoration, but it's running emergency bus service today. and if you are heading north, amtrak service will be limited today between washington, new york, and boston. that's because crews are still repairing the damage caused by sandy. amtrak is telling passengers to make reservations by phone or online to avoid sold out trains and long lines at ticket counters. today montgomery county council president will discuss pepco's response to hurricane sandy. roger verlander will meet with members of the media today at the county building in rockville. thousands lost electricity in the county as trees knocked over power lines after the storm. pepco is receiving generally high praise for its response to sandy, restoring power to everybody only a few days after the storm. 6:06 is your time. 40 degrees. ahead, a tough one for the redskins and something you don't

expect to hear from a head coach halfway through the season. [ earnest ] out of the blue one day, we were told to build a 30-foot stage. gathered the guys and we built that 30-foot stage, not knowing what it was for. just days later, all three shifts were told to assemble in the warehouse. a group of people walked out on that stage and told us that the plant is now closed and all of you are fired... i looked both ways, i looked at the crowd, and...we all just lost our jobs. we don't have an income. mitt romney made over 100 million dollars by shutting down our plant and devastated our lives.

turns out that when we built that stage, it was like building my own coffin, and it just made me sick. [ male announcer ] priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising.

men camping in provo, utah, says that he caught bigfoot on camera lehere. take a look at this youtube video. a man saw a deer run uphill. that's when he spotted what he thought was a bear. then he saw the creature stood up, there he is, looked right at him. the man doesn't want his name released. all he knows is that it was not a bear. >> did he speak to him? how did he know it's not a bear? >> big foot doesn't speak. it was a big foot. >> okay. so you're a believer. >> yes. >> our director's a believer.

>> and i also believe in the abominable snowman. >> you do? and what about aliens? >> aliens, loch ness, the whole nine yards. >> everything. all right. good to know. 6:11. time for weather and traffic on the ones. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein, it's cold out there. 6:11. all around our region, we've got a lot of cloudiness, except about 50 miles or so south and southwest of washington, the cloud cover breaks up. that's where the coldest temperatures are. below freezing it's cleared out. under the clouds, above freezing most of the northern virginia and the rest of maryland and the district, upper 30s to near 40. hometown forecast, tyson's corner by 7:30, still cloudy and around 40 degrees. by the lunch hour, sunshine breaking out in theear 40s. here's the forecast for the whole region. winds will be increasing a bit. highs reaching near 50 this afternoon. a look at that potential coastal storm, what it may do to us in ten minutes. a look at traffic now.

here's danella. >> good morning. still looking at the accident on bw parkway north of 197 lower bowie road has you getting by in the right shoulder lane. you are seeing delays as you travel northbound on bw parkway, solid delays. again, you're narrowed down to the right shoulder lane as you make your way past laurel bowie road. let's head over to the beltway. this here is a four vehicle crash on the american legion bridge and the inner loop of the beltway blocking the right side of the road. left lanes get by. it is now 6:12. 49 degrees. the health hazard you may be handing to your child. charlie rose: will you endorse president obama?

colin powell: yes. when he took over we were in one of the... worst recessions we had seen in recent times... close to a depression. and i saw, over the next several years, stabilization... come back in the financial community. housing is starting to pick up. the president saved the auto industry. and the actions he's taken with respect to... protecting us from terrorism have been very, very solid. and so, i think we ought to keep on the track that we are on.

president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message. [monotone] she says, "switch to progressive and you could save hundreds." call or click today. 15 after the hour. police are calling it a hor iric accident. pittsburgh zoo is closed the day after a 2-year-old boy fell into a wild dog exhibit and was mauled to death. police say the mother tried to give him a better view by lifting him above the rail on the deck.

the boy fell into the pit, and the dogs attacked him immediately. zoo keeper did try to save the boy, but it was too late. >> they responded immediately and were able to get several of the dogs into the back of the building. the veterinarians arrived and tried to scare the dogs away from the child with darts and were unsuccessful in doing that. >> police tried in that effort as well. they were successful except for one dog, getting him away from the boy. they had to shoot and kill that dog. the zoo's president says it still is not clear if the boy actually died from the attack or whether he was killed by the fall. an army staff sergeant accused of killing 16 staff villagers will appear in military court today. staff sergeant robert bales is accused of walking off his base in kandahar in march and killing women and children in a drunken rampage. there will be a court martial expected to face testimony from

villagers. bales could face the death penalty if convicted. james "whitey" bulger is in the hospital this morning after complaining of chest pains. the former leader of the winter hill gang is awaiting trial. he's accused of playing a role in 19 murders. he avoided capture for close to 40 years until police caught up to him last year in california. a man accuseded of helping the pope's former butler steal secret papal documents. the man was worksing as a computer technician when he helped the butler steal from the vatican. the butler received an 18-month prison sentence. the technician is accused of aiding and abetting the crime. second leg of royal tour begins today. the british royals have a busy itinerary. they landed in queensland and plan to visit four cities in australia plus the island of tas mania in the next six days.

tomorrow they'll take in melbourne cup where prince charles will present the trophy to the winner and will end in new zealand where prince charles will celebrate his 64th birthday next week. the burgundy and gold are feeling blue after a loss to carolina. the team was whistled for 13 penalties for 97 yards. the panthers took advantage of all those penalties too, winning the game 21-13. afterward, head coach mike shanahan said it might be time to start looking ahead to next season. >> when you lose a game like that, now your plan to see who obviously is going to be on your football team for years to come. we get a chance to evaluate players and see where we're at. obviously, we're not out of it statistically. but now we find out what type of character we got and all guys keep fighting through the rest of the season. >> the team is off for its bye week now. the team takes the field again on sunday the 18th, at home against the philadelphia eagles. some encouraging news for hockey fans this morning.

the nhl and players union will meet ontuesday, their second time meeting in less than a week. that lockout has already forced the league to cancel games through november as well as the annual winter classic, which is played outdoors. nasa says all systems are go for a rocket launch this week. the 10 foot tall rocket is set to launch between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. on wednesday near the wallops island facility in virginia. if the launch is delayed because of weather conditions, nasa will try again on thursday. and the international space station has had an astronaut on board every single day for the past 12 years. to celebrate, nasa has launched a new app to help you keep tabs on it. it's called spot the station. it will e-mail or text you when the iss is passing over your location. the iss looks like a bright star moving across the sky at a steady pace. with the exception of the moon, it is the brightest object in the night sky. we've set up a link to where you can get the app on the "news 4 today" facebook page. very cool.

>> you download the app and get a text to go out and look for the international space station. >> tom says you can see it streaking across the sky. >> we'll see what the kids say about that. >> goes from horizon to horizon in about five minutes. this morning you won't be able to see it because cloud cover across northern virginia, the district, most of maryland, north of shenandoah valley into the mountains. north central shenandoah valley and points south and fredericksburg south, it's all clear. that's where it's the coldest. right now these temperatures here in the dark blue are near freezing or below freezing. storm team 4 forecast, for today, sunshine breaking out later today withighs reaching near 50. winds gusting to 20 miles an hour. tomorrow for election day, cold in the morning. you'll need a coat to vote. it will be near 30 in the morning. afternoon highs reaching the mid and upper 40s with increasing clouds.

then a coastal storm still looking likely wednesday night and into thursday. rain changing to snow with gusty winds around the metro areas west of i-95. i think we'll probably see some snow. how much? a little too early to say. does look like all of this is going to end on thursday. sunshine is back and warming. highs near 60 over the weekend. i'll return in ten minutes out on the storm team 4 weather deck. danella is here with a look at traffic. good morning. >> good morning. still following the accident affecting your northbound lanes, bw parkway as you approach 198. you're jammed at 197. here's a live look from chopper 4. crash here involving seven vehicles. chopper also reports seeing a search helicopter in the area. if you're northbound bw parkway, total three mile backup in this area. just jammed as you get by. only the right shoulder lane is

going to get you by. delays are significant in this area as chopper loops around and shows you the delays. over to the inner loop of the beltway at the american legion bridge. here four vehicle accident still blocking your two right lanes. your jammed on the inner loop at georgetown pike. aaron and eun? >> thanks, danella. 6:22 is the time. ahead, a guy charged with a crime you never would have thought about before hurricane sandy. and after the break, why the new ipad mini may mean the end

i know that sound. lots of parents have done it to soothe a crying baby, pick up a fallen pacifier and pop it back in the child's mouth. new researchers found that those pacifiers are crawling with bacteria even if they look clean. researchers at oklahoma state university put them under the microscope and found all kinds of germs, including mold and staph. this was a relatively small study, and there's no research tying dirty pacifiers to actual illness. doctors say it's a good idea to replace them at least monthly and wash them before you put it back in the baby's mouth. an auto shop in florida finding a good use for the ipad mini. the shop installed a seven-inch

tablet into the car to mimic an in dash computer. the ipad mini does all the services that a normal car computer will. drivers can access pandora, itunes, et cetera, all while sitting in park, of course. >> do you listen to your radio in your car ever? >> i do. ahead, more attributed to hurricane sandy.

why this time the cost of filling up is falling fast. and bracing for more. this morning millions of people still reeling from sandy are preparing for a new threat that could make a mess around here as well. good morning, everyone. i'm aaron gilchrist. welcome back to "news 4 today." >> and i'm eun yang. it is a sprint to the finish today. the presidential candidates logging serious miles. both president obama and republican candidate mitt romney are holding events in key states, including virginia. a new poll shows it is not too late to sway the race. just how close things really are in about ten minutes. and this does not bode well for election day, an early voting controversy in a critical state. ahead, why all these people were turned away at the polls. >> time right now is 6:30. feels more like a december morning. temperatures falling fast. take a look at temperatures around the region. some places in virginia in the

20s right now. >> unbelievable. meteorologist tom kierein is on the storm team 4 weather deck. tom, i hope you have your coat on out there. i can't believe it's 20s. >> i know. i'm going to talk real fast so i can get right back inside. going to be chilly this afternoon. back to you. it is freezing out here because we got a little bit of a blustery wind and a cloudy sky. wear your warmest winter coats. it has dipped down into the 20s. mostly clear from fredericksburg to shenandoah valley. under the clouds locally, generally holding steady to upper 30s to around 40 degrees. you can see the cloud cover hanging in the last six hours over northern virginia, the district, and the rest of maryland into west virginia. as the day progresses hour by hour, the winds gusting to around 10, 15 miles an hour. they may gust 20 to 25 by later on as we get sunshine breaking out during the afternoon.

sunrise is just a few minutes away at 6:40. it's an hour earlier since we turned our clocks back an hour over the weekend. sunset at 5:03. going to be getting dark this afternoon before that. little sunshine in and out. breezy chill in the air. ought to climb to around 50 by midafternoon. a look at the hometown forecast coming up in ten minutes. now a look at traffic with danella. good morning. >> good morning, tom. first 4 traffic checking out the view from chopper 4 over the delays. this is the accident that's causing it. northbound bw parkway as you make your way towards 198, you're going to see this accident. and now you are able to get by in the right lane. but single file to the right lane. crash here originally involving about seven vehicles and delays. again, as i said, looking about a four-mile backup as you make your way northbound, jammed really at lower bowie road. let's head over to i-270. heavy on the brakes at germantown road. you're slow as you continue southbound out of

fredericksburg. no accidents as you make your way to the beltway. just general con investigation. on 395, hitting the brakes northbound at duke. no accidents heading to the 14th street bridge, but you are under speed at 44 miles per hour. that drive taking 15 minutes. checking the rails, good news. no rt roed delays along the metro, the marc, or the vre. eun, over to you. starting today, getting caught by a speed camera in the district won't hit your wallet quite as hard. fines are dropping $25 for any speeding violation up to 15 miles per hour. if you are caught going 25 miles per hour or more over the speed limit, fines are now up to $300. mayor vincent gray says the revenues from the fines will help hire 100 new police officers. new this morning, new jersey experienced a minor earthquake around 1:20 this morning. the 2.0 quake hit the northern part of the state, which is still dealing with power outages and downed trees from sandy. police say so far they've received no reports of any damage or injury from the quake. you are probably feeling a little less pain at the pump these days.

the national average for a gallon of gas at $3.47. it dropped 7 cents in seven days. in our area, d.c. drivers paying $3.70, down 3 cents from a week ago. virginia drivers averaging $3.34 a gallon. in maryland, it's down 5 cents to $3.51. and west virginia drivers are paying $3.60, 5 cents less than a week ago. a big reason gas prices are falling is hurricane sandy. normally when a hurricane or big storm hits, gas prices go up. but the lack of gas combined with fewer people actually needing gas has forced prices to drop all over the country. a new york man and a gas station attendant are in trouble for their role in gas hording. a man filled 30 giant tubs at a gas station hoping to bring it back to his neighbors in new york. the gas station attendant says the store was so busy he didn't realize what the man was doing. a fairfax county family is

pleading for help in finding their father who's been missing for nearly two weeks now. police and search dogs combed through the woods of huntley meadows park in search of 64-year-old mohammed yazdani. he suffers from dementia and was last seen on october 24th near his home on havenwood place. yazdani is 5'6" and was wearing a gray sweatsuit when he disappeared. if you know anything about his whereabouts, call police immediately. tonight friends and family will gather together to remember a montgomery county teen who was hit by a car while walking to school. christina morris wade died last week while walking to seneca valley high l skoo. the 15-year-old was crossing germantown road at wisteria drive when she was hit. new this morning, a tv station in israel is reporting that country prepared for an imminent strike on iran's nuclear program in 2010. the report is part of a larger documentary set to air tonight. the order to prepare for the attack was given by prime

minister benjamin yet an ya hue and a small meeting of top many prosecutes. but several of those men questioned whether they had the authority to give the order, and preparations were called off. 6:36 is the time right now. why mitt romney may have been rooting hard against the redskins. also, why one board of elections is already calling this a record breaker.

21 before the hour now. the "today" show is coming up next at 7:00. let's check in with matt lauer to see what they're working on. >> hi, aaron. nice to see you. coming up, we're going to be live in staten island.

more on recovery efforts from sandy and the new storm targeting the region. plus shortage in the northeast in the wake of sandy. when will drivers be relieved? we'll talk about that. complete coverage of president obama and governor romney's. chuck todd breaks down what it will take for each of them to reach the magic number of 270 electoral votes needed to win. we've got those stories and christinain ing aguilera opens about her new album, her fellow members of "the voice" and her future on that show. back to you. imagine a dream wedding at a beautiful beach resort with a price tag of $1.2 million. it could all be yours for free with one catch. there's always a catch. it's not your dream wedding. all the decisions will be made on social media. today "brides" magazine is launching the contest.

one lucky couple will have thousands giving input on their big day, everything from the dress to the flowers to the cake, which will be designed by the cake boss. the magazine's editor says the modern bride uses multiple media platforms when wedding planning, and that is what inspired the contest. the "today" show does the "today" show wedding, which is very similar to this contest. >> i would not have a problem with that. >> you wouldn't? you'd let everyone else make the decisions? >> isn't that how it works for guys anyway? >> you have a good point there. >> just show up, right? >> even as a bride, i might have taken them up on it. >> taking a look outside this morning, look at that. the sun's up already. >> where? >> it's out there, trust me. still got a lot of work to do to get the temperatures up, right, tom? >> indeed. the sunrise was about a minute and a half ago at 6:40. right now 6:41. a lot of cloudiness obscuring the sun across northern virginia, the district, and maryland. there's the view from space. where it's clear farther to the south and southwest, it is cold. those areas in dark blue are in the upper 20s to right around freezing.

that includes the shenandoah valley and the blue ridge into the mountains. low 40s on the tidal potomac at reagan national. hometown forecast, rockville at 8:00. cloudy. sun breaking out for the lunch hour. mid-40s by then. for the entire region hour by hour today, we'll have the winds a little blustery, gusting to 20 to 25 miles per hour later this morning and this afternoon. highs reaching near 50 degrees. a strong coastal area of low pressure, a coastal storm may give us rain, wind, and snow. i'll have the details on the timing and the latest thinking on that coming up in about ten minutes. danella, how's traffic? still checking on a few accidents in our area. let's start with the outer loop of the beltway at pennsylvania avenue. the crash here reportedly involving four vehicles in this area. it is blocking the left lane. you can see here, just delays as you travel on the outer loop.

you have to stick to the right to get by the accident there. over to the american legion bridge, the inner loop of the beltway. crash involving a tractor trailer is out of the roadway. you are seeing delays really from georgetown pike, where you're heavy on the brakes as you make your way across the american legion bridge. a live look at lorton. you are under speed to get to the beltway from prince william parkway. you're at about 29 miles per hour. that drive taking 26 minutes. and on the rails, a five-minute delay. this is an penn south train number 409. metro, vre, not reporting delays at this time. aaron, over to you. >> thanks, danella. just 24 hours until the polls open in decision 2012 and the race for president is in a statistical dead heat. here's the latest look at the nbc news/wall street journal/marist poll shows president obama with a narrow lead, 48-47 right now, but that

is well within the margin of error, 2.5%, for this poll. virginia, the poll there mirrors the national results. president leading mitt romney 48-47%, again within the margin of error. the president also holds a narrow lead in the battle ground states of florida and ohio. >> both candidates will be focusing on ohio today. president obama will campaign there as well as in iowa and wisconsin. mitt romney will campaign in ohio as well. he'll also make two stops in virginia, including one at george mason university. the republican presidential nominee will also hold rallies in florida and new hampshire. >> we're only two days away from a very different path, from a fresh start. two days away from a new beginning. >> as long as i'm president, i'll work with anybody of any party to move this country forward. if you want to break the gridlock in congress, you'll vote for leaders, whether they're democrats, republicans,

or independents who feel the same way. >> more than 30 million mer americans have cast their ballots. early voting has begun and wrapped up in 30 states and the district. ballots will not be counted until tomorrow. decision 2012 is already seeing a record turnout in the district. d.c.'s board of elections estimates a record 52,000 residents voted early this year. that is more than double the number of people who voted early in 2010 when early voting started in d.c. some voters had to wait in long lines, some two hours or more, to cast their ballots. frustration and anger in florida over issues with early voting in that state. hundreds lined up in an election office hoping to turn in absentee ballots. the council was so overwhelmed by the crowd, they shut their doors for a while and then decided to reopen. it came after horrendous lines on saturday as residents tried to beat the deadline for early voting.

>> i'm a little bit upset because of the lines. it's been five hours now. >> voting issues are also expected in ohio where there are new absentee ballot rules and in virginia and new york, where power outages caused by sandy could cause some headaches. if you see a problem at the polls tomorrow, our news 4 i-team is on voter patrol and wants to know about it. call the tip line at 202-885-4444. or you can eem e-mail them at tips@news4iteam.com. today governor o'malley will hit three separate rallies. first he'll attend a rally supporting question 7, the gaming expansion referendum. it will start at 10:15 at baltimore's inner harbor. governor o'malley will attend two rallies for marriage equality. first held at 11:00 a.m. on federal hill. and the second rally at 3:00 this afternoon at the university of maryland. 14 before the hour now. hurricane sandy throwing a wrench in the plans of the new

york state board of elections. it is shipping generators out to polling locations that are without power. the board is expecting a low voter turnout. if fewer than 20% of registered voters show up tomorrow, the board of elections says it is prepared to extend the voting deadline into wednesday. this news comes as new jersey's board of elections announced it will allow residents to e-mail their votes in if they are unable to get to the polling station. new jersey governor chris christie says he's fed up with the fallout from his praise for president obama. christie, who is one of mitt romney's biggest supporters, commended the president for his response to sandy. he says he's angry people are trying to politicize his comments. >> this shows you how broken our political system is. because i say something nice about someone who does their job well, somehow that takes away my endorsement of mitt romney?

>> christie says he is still going to vote for romney tomorrow. a week after sandy wreaks havoc on the east coast, some things are starting to get back to normal. later today, president obama will meet with a team from fema to discuss the disaster relief efforts. so far, sandy has claimed 113 lives here in the u.s. utility companies still working to restore power to just under 2 million customers. gas lines are still long, but both new york governor andrew cuomo and new jersey governor chris christie have promised an end to the shortage this week. the gas shortage won't help the rush to get back to work and school. it's the first day of classes in new york since sandy. this morning the subway system is running about 80% of normal service. the new york transit agency says it's several weeks away from full restoration, but it's running emergency bus services today. if you're running north on amtrak, service will be limited between washington, new york, and boston. that's because crews are still repairing the damage caused by

sandy. amtrak is telling passengers to make reservations on phone or online to avoid sold out lines at ticket counters. the crane dangling near a luxury high rise has been fastened to the side of the building. so it is now safe to walk under it. those living in buildings had to evacuate last sunday when sandy's winds knocked the crane loose. that included a hotel with 900 guests. building inspectors had to climb 74 stories to secure that crane. a couple of traffic lanes underneath the crane remain closed this morning. today montgomery county's council president will discuss pepco's response to hurricane sandy a week after the storm hit our area. he'll meet with members of the media today at the county office building in rockville. thousands lost electricity in the county as trees knocked over power lines following the storm. pepco getting high marks for its response to sandy, restoring power to just about everyone only a few days after the storm.

people in garrett county, maryland, finally digging out after the storm. sandy dumped 30 inches of snow in that area. this morning 40% of roads are now open. national guard is helping with stranded vehicles and helping recovery efforts. a little relief from the monthly bills for hurricane sandy. cnbc's jackie deangelis with live is that now. >> good morning to you. the nation ps's biggest ban are offering temporary relief from those impacted by hurricane sandy. they're extending waivers on a number of fees and late charges. also suspending foreclosure sales. most banks are extending their deadlines until wednesday. several banks are still without power themselves with dozens of branches and atms throughout the northeast and mid-atlantic states out of service. but it's good to hear they're trying to help the customers. back over to you. >> jackie, thank you. coming up on 6:51 now on this monday morning.

tom kierein is here getting us prepared for the winter blast that's coming our way. >> i think it's already here. it's inkribly cold. we're starting off with a cloudy sky, but it's a damp, penetrating kind of cold with a little bit of a breeze blowing too that makes it colder than the 42 at reagan national, which by the way, is the warm spot. you can see the warmer waters of the potomac right next to national airport. warm northwesterly breeze at 5 to 10 miles an hour. we're talking windchill. cloudiness across the district and most of maryland. the cloud cover broken up a bit from just west of warrenton and then farther south and west of there. it's clear, and it's coldest there in those locations. it is down into the upper 20s to around 30 degrees. under the cloud cover, it's held in some of the warmth we had yesterday. right now in the upper 30s, above freezing in prince george's, arlington, fairfax, montgomery counties, just about

all of southern maryland, northern neck, eastern shore. and to our west and north, temperatures above freezing. with the pending coastal storm looking increasingly likely this is going to happen on wednesday into thursday. the leading edge of the precipitation from that storm looking like it's going to begin to move in. here's wednesday at 7:40 in the morning. probably maybe some rain moving in. these areas in green and yellow and orange are rain. but as we get into the afternoon, this area in blue, that's a mix of maybe some sleet and rain and wet snow. farther west, the lighter blue areas, that is some snow. we may get that from about 3:00 on wednesday afternoon all the way into wednesday evening, perhaps even right into the metro area. we could get accumulating wet snow from that system. stay tuned. we'll have a better idea of how much we might get as we get into tomorrow. for the morning hours, cloudy and cold. those breezes will still be kicking up a bit. quite breezy for the lunch hour. by then, some clouds breaking out. a little sunshine breaking out in the 40s.

midafternoon near 50. form election day, cold start near 30. highs in the 40s. increasing clouds and the coastal storm bringing us rain, snow, and wind wednesday afternoon and evening and into part of thursday. it should end by thursday afternoon based on the latest timing. warming up after that as we get into the rest of the weekend. a cloudy chilly start on this monday morning. danella, how's our traffic? >> not good. that earlier accident as you approach 198, you're down to one lane because of the crash there. delays about seven miles as you make your way northbound bw parkway. here's the accident, and here's what you have to pass just on the right lane here. you can see one of the vehicles in the crash. the accident did involve seven vehicles and looks like just one vehicle remains. back over to you both. >> 6:53 now.

the redskins lost to panthers has coach mike shanahan looking into the future after the team's third straight loss. shanahan said he'll use the team's final seven games to evaluate the players. basically saying he is already looking to next year. shan an used the words must win, but it sure didn't look like it, 13 penalties. shanahan used the word disappointed nine times in the post-game press conference. quarterback robert griffin iii also disappointed. >> it's just a bad feeling when you're walking off the field knowing you didn't go out there and execute like you wanted to. that's what we talked about. it's all about execution. people are going to criticize. they're going to criticize the coaches. they're going to criticize the players. they're going to say that a drastic change needs to be made. i don't feel that way. i feel it's on us, on the players to make sure we go out there and play. >> the team is off for its bye week now. skins take the field again on

sunday, the 18th. if you follow the redskins rule, the presidential race is all but sewn up for mitt romney. since 1940, the team's wins and losses have predicted all but one presidential race. if the team wins the last home game before the election, the incumbent wins the election. but if they lose, then the 0 poising party wins the election. and mitt romney will win. you have to exercise your right to vote tomorrow. >> a star comedian is telling you to go out and cast your ballot. >> i'm will ferrell, comedian, actor, founder of fates boocebo i will do anything to get you go out and vote on november 6th. >> the obama campaign and will ferrell teamed up for this goofy video. the comedy star says he'll cook you dinner, give you a tattoo, even punch himself in the face, but only if you vote. >> also eat a number of

disgusting things like toe nail clippings. >> taking one for the team. >> go vote. >> get the out the door forecast. should be good weather for election day tomorrow. today breezy and chilly, sun back. and then that coastal storm on wednesday into thursday. stay tuned. back to you. >> thank you, tom. that is "news 4 today." thank you for starting your day with us. the "today" show is next. we'll be back in 25 minutes with weather, traffic, and any breaking news. charlie rose: will you endorse president obama?

colin powell: yes. when he took over we were in one of the... worst recessions we had seen in recent times... close to a depression. and i saw, over the next several years, stabilization... come back in the financial community. housing is starting to pick up. the president saved the auto industry. and the actions he's taken with respect to... protecting us from terrorism have been very, very solid. and so, i think we ought to keep on the track that we are on. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message.